County Kills 2 Requests For Rezoning

May 2, 1986|By Lauren Ritchie of The Sentinel Staff

Two zoning requests -- one to put a liquor store parking lot in a residential neighborhood along east State Road 50 and another to put a duplex development in a rural residential neighborhood in west Orange County -- were rejected by county commissioners this week.

Residents spoke against the requests by ABC Liquors on Monday and by developer Max Sabeti Tuesday. Commissioners upheld denials recommended by the county's planning and zoning board on both projects.

In the liquor store request, ABC asked the county to change the zoning on three lots on the east side of Selma Avenue, just south of S.R. 50, from agricultural to commercial so the company could build a parking lot for a liquor store and lounge it wants to build on the adjoining property along S.R. 50.

In a sudden change of mind, commissioners, who had been leaning toward approval, denied the request after representatives of ABC refused to agree to conditions they requested.

Commissioner Lou Treadway moved to approve the request if ABC would agree to build a wall around the parking lot and use only S.R. 50 for access into the liquor store.

A. Kurt Ardaman, attorney for the company, said ABC needed access onto Selma Avenue because a median in S.R. 50 prevents patrons from turning west when they leave the establishment.

But before Ardaman could finish his statement, Commissioner Hal Marston, who had given a second to Treadway's motion, withdrew the support and Commissioner Bob Harrell proposed a denial. Martson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Ardaman, who said during the meeting that ABC intended to build a liquor store on the property regardless of whether it got the parking lot, said after the meeting that he was unsure whether the company would build.

ABC president Jack Holloway declined to say whether the company would continue with its plans.

A number of residents opposed the change, saying the liquor store would destroy a neighborhood near Selma Drive that is being revived by young couples moving there and renovating the homes.

Paul Hughes, who spoke for several young families, said that to allow commercial enterprises into the neighborhood was to ''break faith with the residents and penalize our investments.''

He said Selma Drive has no outlet and that would cause ABC patrons who leave the bar late to turn around in driveways in the neighborhood when they discovered the dead end.

ABC is trying to replace a bar at the end of the East-West Expressway with the proposed one near Selma Avenue. Another resident, Jim Kidder, said that is a bad idea for the neighborhood because of the kind of clientele drawn to the ABC at the end of the East-West.

In the case involving the duplex development, commissioners heard from neighbors bitterly opposed to the proposal. The neighbors own mostly 2.5-acre lots on the 100 acres surrounding the site.

Sabeti's request was to change the zoning on 4.7 acres from a rural residential zoning to a higher density residential zoning that would allow duplexs. The land is on the east side of Hiawassee Road, about a half-mile south of S.R. 50.

Paul Warren, who represented Sabeti, told commissioners Tuesday that the area was changing from rural residential to higher density commercial. He said the western extension of the East-West Expressway is scheduled to go through the neighborhood and Hiawassee Road is to be widened to five lanes. That, he said, drastically will change the character of the neighborhood. He said the duplexes will not affect the neighborhood nearly as much as the road proposals.

Warren said the developer planned to leave trees on the property to help make duplexes fit into the neighborhood, and he offered to build a 6-foot fence around the property.

Richard Ribbe, whose back door is 65 feet from the proposed duplexes, said the area around Hiawassee Road and S.R. 50 is developed, but that about 100 acres of surrounding land remains rural residential with 39 homes, most worth $150,000, on large lots. The duplex development would reduce the value of the property, he said.

Brantley Slaughter of the Livingston Meadows Homeowners Association said the group is opposed to the development because it will begin to change the character of the area.

Marston moved to deny the rezoning request and Treadway approved the motion. Commission Chairman Tom Dorman voted for the motion and Harrell voted against it. Vera Carter was absent from the meeting.